National Treasure

A National Treasure at Kyoto's Zenrin-ji: Amida rises over the mountains, and five colored cords once tied to his hand were held by the dying to reach the Pure Land.

To-ji's National Treasure pair of Womb and Diamond World mandalas in color on silk, Japan's oldest such work, carries an 899 box inscription and is rarely shown.

Discover Kenpon Bokuga Sansuizu, a National Treasure ink landscape painting attributed to the great Song Dynasty master Li Tang, housed at Koto-in, a sub-temple of Daitoku-ji in Kyoto. Learn about its artistic significance, history with the Hosokawa samurai clan, and how to plan your visit.

Discover Muqi's "Kannon, Monkeys and Cranes" — a 13th-century Southern Song masterpiece and one of Japan's most revered National Treasures, held at Daitoku-ji in Kyoto. A cornerstone of the Ashikaga shogunate's Higashiyama Gyomotsu collection, this three-scroll ink painting will be a headline exhibit at the Tokyo National Museum's 2026 Daitoku-ji 700th anniversary exhibition.

Housed at Daitoku-ji in Kyoto, this National Treasure is a thirteenth-century hanging scroll by the Chinese Chan Buddhist monk-painter Muqi, depicting the White-Robed Kannon in ink and light color on silk. Once part of the Ashikaga shogunate's Higashiyama Gomotsu collection and bearing Yoshimitsu's Doyu seal, it forms the central panel of the famed Kannon, Gibbons, and Crane triptych and stands as a foundational model for Japanese ink painting. A full guide to its history, artistic significance, viewing opportunities, and access to Daitoku-ji.

Discover the National Treasure 'Go-Uda Tennō Shinkan Otein Yuigō' at Daikaku-ji Temple in Kyoto — a handwritten testament by the 91st Emperor of Japan, bearing his vermillion hand print. Created in the 1320s, this remarkable scroll preserves the emperor's final wishes for the temple and Shingon Esoteric Buddhism, and stands as a masterpiece of imperial calligraphy.

Discover the National Treasure calligraphy by Emperor Go-Uda, a deeply personal biography of Kōbō Daishi written on silk in 1315, preserved at Daikaku-ji Temple in Kyoto's scenic Sagano district.

Discover the National Treasure shinkan (imperial handwritten document) by Emperor Go-Uda, written in 1308 to ensure the prosperity of Tō-ji Temple. Learn about this remarkable piece of Japanese calligraphy, the emperor's devotion to Shingon Buddhism, and how to visit Tō-ji in Kyoto.

Three autograph letters in which the cloistered Emperor Go-Uda begged the Daigo-ji master Kenjun to grant him the Sanboin esoteric lineage, now a National Treasure.

Discover the Huangdi Neijing Taisu, a National Treasure housed at Ninna-ji Temple in Kyoto. This 12th-century manuscript is the oldest surviving copy of an ancient Chinese medical text that was lost in China itself. Learn about its history, significance, and how to visit.

Held at Ninna-ji in Kyoto, this National Treasure preserves the opening volume of a Tang-dynasty Chinese medical text largely lost in China, copied in 1296 and 1383.

A National Treasure at Tō-ji in Kyoto: the catalogue of scriptures and ritual objects Kūkai brought back from Tang in 806, copied out by the Tendai founder Saichō.

Held at Tō-ji in Kyoto, the Fūshinjō is a National Treasure scroll of three letters Kūkai wrote to Saichō around 810, prized as the summit of his brushwork.

Compiled in 873 CE, the Kōryū-ji Engi Shizai-chō is a National Treasure ancient document that meticulously records the Buddhist statues, scriptures, landholdings, and ceremonial vestments of Kōryū-ji — Kyoto's oldest temple. Organized into six comprehensive chapters, this rare Heian-period inventory includes descriptions of ritual garments found in no other temple records. Discover the historical significance of this invaluable manuscript and explore the treasures of Kōryū-ji Temple, home to Japan's celebrated Hōkan Miroku statue.

Preserved at Kōryū-ji in Uzumasa, Kyoto, this National Treasure scroll was compiled around 890 during the early Heian period. Serving as a verification of the earlier 873 temple register, it records the buildings, Buddhist statues, and landholdings of Kōryū-ji, offering an irreplaceable window into ninth-century temple life in ancient Japan.

The Kokin Wakashū copied by Fujiwara no Teika in 1226 is a National Treasure and the most influential manuscript of Japan's first imperial poetry anthology. Preserved for 800 years by the Reizei family in Kyoto, this extraordinary document features Teika's own handwritten annotations, collation notes, and the distinctive calligraphic style that shaped Japanese literary tradition. Discover its scholarly significance, artistic beauty, and remarkable unbroken provenance.

The National Treasure Kokin Wakashū (Manshuin-bon), preserved at Manshuin Temple in Kyoto, is an 11th-century handscroll featuring exquisite kana calligraphy on color-shifting dyed paper. Attributed to Fujiwara no Yukinari, this masterwork embodies the pinnacle of Heian-period aesthetic refinement.

Go-Saga's 1246 letter to a Ninna-ji abbot, thanking him for Buddhist rites, is the only verified autograph of the emperor and a Kamakura-period National Treasure.

Teika copied the Gosen Wakashu into one volume in 1234, aged 73. This Tenpuku-bon original, full of his own notes, is a National Treasure of Kyoto's Reizei family.

A National Treasure at Kyoto's Daitoku-ji: an autograph decree Emperor Go-Daigo wrote in 1333, fixing that only the founder's lineage could ever lead the temple.